How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method

1. Find the Creative Method That Works for You

Different writers are different, and your first mission as a novelist is to find the method that works best for you.

No single right way. There isn't one universal method for writing a novel that works for everyone. Some writers prefer detailed outlining, meticulously planning every plot point in advance. Others prefer "seat-of-the-pants" writing, discovering the story as they go.

Ignore unhelpful advice. If a particular method, like outlining or organic writing, doesn't resonate with you or feels stifling, it's okay to discard it. The goal is to find a creative paradigm that enables you to write your first draft effectively. The Snowflake Method is just one option among many.

Experiment and adapt. The key is experimentation. Try different approaches, or parts of approaches, and see what helps you move forward. The Snowflake Method itself is adaptable; you can use all ten steps, just a few, or modify them to suit your personal writing style and the demands of your specific story.

2. Know Your Target Audience to Delight Them

You are going to write your story to delight your target audience. You will not care about anybody else.

Focus on a specific reader. Trying to write a novel that appeals to everyone often results in a story that delights no one. Instead, identify a specific target audience – the type of reader who would absolutely love your particular kind of story.

Delight leads to word-of-mouth. When you deeply delight your target audience, they become your biggest fans and marketers. They will enthusiastically tell others about your book, creating powerful word-of-mouth buzz that can reach far beyond your initial niche.

Define by psychographics. Think beyond simple demographics like age or gender. Define your target audience by what they like – the specific elements, themes, and emotional experiences they seek in a story. This psychographic understanding helps you tailor your writing to truly resonate with them.

3. Condense Your Story to One Powerful Sentence

You give her a taste of the story in twenty-five words or less.

The core marketing tool. Your one-sentence summary is the most important marketing tool you have, both for yourself and for potential readers or agents. It must be concise, ideally under 25 words, and instantly convey the essence of your story.

Arouse curiosity, not explain. This sentence isn't meant to give away the entire plot or provide backstory. Its purpose is to pique interest and make someone say, "Tell me more!" It should focus on the main character(s) and their central goal or conflict.

Must be concrete. Avoid abstract ideas. The sentence needs to paint a clear picture of the story's core. For example, instead of "a man fights evil," specify "an American saboteur tries to blow up a Nazi ammo depot."

4. Structure Your Plot with Three Major Disasters

Your reader wants all of those things. Excitement. Decisions. New directions. And they want those on a regular schedule.

The Three-Act Structure. Effective stories often follow a three-act structure, punctuated by major disasters. These disasters serve as turning points that escalate the stakes and drive the narrative forward.

Disasters force decisions. A major disaster shouldn't just be exciting; it should force the main character to make a significant decision. This decision commits them further to the story and sends the plot in a new direction.

Key disaster points: Aim for major disasters at the end of Act 1, the midpoint (end of the first half of Act 2), and the end of Act 2. Examples:

• Act 1 Disaster: Hero commits to the journey (Luke's aunt/uncle killed).
• Midpoint Disaster: Hero changes approach/commits to a new way (Obi-Wan killed, Luke must rely on self).
• Act 2 Disaster: Forces commitment to the ending (Death Star tracks rebels, they must fight).

5. Characters Drive the Story: Go Deep

Nothing Is More Important Than Characters

Readers connect with people. While plot is important, readers primarily connect with and care about the characters. Flat, two-dimensional characters make for a boring story, no matter how exciting the events.

Beyond superficial traits. Developing strong characters means going beyond physical descriptions. You need to understand their inner lives, motivations, fears, and desires to make them feel real and relatable.

Invest in all main characters. Don't just focus on the hero or heroine. Every important character, including the villain, needs depth. A strong villain makes for a strong story because they provide compelling conflict.

6. Uncover Each Character's Secret Story

Everybody has a secret story that nobody else knows.

Understand motivations. To make characters believable, you must understand what drives them. Each character sees themselves as the hero of their own personal story, with their own history, values, ambitions, and goals.

Values, Ambition, Goal. These three elements are crucial for character development:

• Values: What the character believes is fundamentally important ("Nothing is more important than..."). These can be conflicting.
• Ambition: An abstract, long-term desire driven by values (e.g., to be respected).
• Goal: A concrete, specific objective in the story that fulfills their ambition (e.g., blow up the ammo dump).

Empathize with the villain. Especially for the villain, delve into their backstory and motivations. Understanding why they do what they do, even if their actions are evil, makes them a more compelling and three-dimensional antagonist.

7. Build Your Story Incrementally with Synopses

The Snowflake Method just tells you what to be creative on next.

Progressive detailing. The Snowflake Method builds your story idea incrementally, starting small and adding layers of detail. You expand from a one-sentence summary to a one-paragraph summary, then to a one-page synopsis, and potentially a longer synopsis.

Flesh out the plot. Each expansion step forces you to think through more details of your plot, identify potential problems, and see how the story flows. This process helps you understand the narrative arc before you commit to writing the full manuscript.

Prepare for proposals. While the longer synopses are primarily for your own planning, they provide the raw material needed to create the shorter, polished synopsis required when submitting to agents or publishers.

8. Embrace Backtracking as Essential Revision

There’s nothing wrong with backtracking. It’s essential, in fact.

Revision is part of writing. No writer gets it perfectly right on the first try. Revision, or backtracking, is a fundamental part of the writing process for everyone, regardless of their method.

Backtrack early and often. The power of the Snowflake Method lies in doing much of your revision work early in the planning stages. It's far easier and less time-consuming to revise a sentence, paragraph, or synopsis page than to rewrite hundreds of manuscript pages.

Small changes, big impact. Reworking early steps, like refining your villain's motivation, can have significant positive repercussions throughout your entire story. These small, early adjustments save immense effort later on.

9. Plan Each Scene for Conflict and Purpose

The scene is the fundamental unit of fiction. Each scene needs to have conflict.

Scenes drive the story. Novels are built scene by scene. Each scene must contain conflict to keep the reader engaged and move the plot forward. Scenes without conflict, even if they add atmosphere or backstory, slow the pace.

Use a scene list. Create a list of all your scenes, perhaps in a spreadsheet, summarizing the main action and noting the point-of-view character. This provides a roadmap and allows you to see the story's flow at a glance.

Proactive vs. Reactive Scenes. Scenes often follow one of two patterns:

• Proactive: Starts with a Goal, faces Conflict, ends with a Setback.
• Reactive: Starts with a Reaction (emotional response to previous setback), analyzes a Dilemma, ends with a Decision.

10. Discover Your Story's Moral Premise

Every good story has a Moral Premise.

Theme in action. A moral premise is the underlying truth or lesson explored in your story. It's not a preachy message, but a statement about cause and effect related to human behavior.

False vs. True Premise. Often, the protagonist starts the story living by a false moral premise (e.g., "living in fear leads to safety"). Through the story's conflicts and disasters, they learn the falseness of this premise and adopt a true one (e.g., "living with courage leads to victory").

Inner transformation. The shift from a false to a true moral premise marks the protagonist's internal transformation. Even if they don't achieve their external goal, achieving victory in their soul by embracing the true premise is a powerful conclusion.

11. Create a Character Bible for Consistency and Depth

One purpose of your character bible is to give you a place to save all the little details about each character—so you don’t make mistakes like that.

Detailed character profiles. A character bible is a repository for all the specific details about each of your important characters. This goes beyond their role or basic motivations.

Comprehensive information. Include details like:

• Physical traits (age, appearance, style)
• Personality (humor, type, hobbies, favorites)
• Environment (home, education, work, family, friends, enemies)
• Psychological depth (memories, traits, paradox, hopes, fears, philosophy)

Reference for writing. The character bible serves as a quick reference tool while writing, ensuring consistency in details (like eye color) and helping you stay true to the character's established personality and background. It helps you get inside their skin.

12. The Snowflake Method Prepares You to Write

At this point, you are frothing at the mouth in your eagerness to write your novel.

Planning enables writing. The detailed planning involved in the Snowflake Method isn't a substitute for writing; it's preparation for writing. By the time you reach Step 10, you have a clear roadmap and deep understanding of your story and characters.

Confidence to begin. Knowing the overall structure, key turning points, character arcs, and scene-by-scene plan eliminates the fear of the blank page and the uncertainty of where the story is going. You know exactly what needs to happen in the first scene and beyond.

Focus on execution. With the planning complete, you can focus your creative energy on the actual writing – crafting compelling sentences, vivid descriptions, and engaging dialogue – confident that the underlying story structure is sound.

Last updated: May 19, 2025